Agriculture and Natural Resources/ Family and Consumer Sciences/
4-H and Youth Development
Newsletter – Revamped!!!
The Robertson County Extension Agents have decided to combine news regarding Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer
Sciences and 4-H Youth Development into one information packed newsletter! Offered programs, news updates and educational articles from all sectors of extension really can reach a broader audience when we work together.
Green Holiday Tips!
During the five weeks between Thanksgiving and
New Year's, Americans produce an extra one million tons of trash per week compared to any other time of the year. Thinking green this holiday season can include more than just boughs of holly. Whether it is shopping, choosing a gift or entertaining, small changes in your holiday habits can make big differences. Here are a few ideas and suggestions on how to have a wonderful, gift-giving holiday season and still be earth friendly.
Green Gift Ideas
 Consider nonmaterial gifts. If someone on your shopping list is a Deming basketball fan, the gift of a season pass would be a great treat. Consider gift certificates to local businesses and our
Blue Licks State Park. Support our local stores.
Cooperative
Extension Service
Terry L. Whalen
Shannon Farrell
Robertson County
PO Box 283
Mt. Olivet, KY 41064
(606) 724-5796
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Make a photo album, scrapbook, or frame a favorite picture.
Everyone appreciates a home-cooked meal or baked goodies. Fill a basket with homemade jellies, muffins and cookies. Include the recipe. Dried fruits, drink mixes and roasted nuts are always appreciated.
Package gifts from your kitchen in reusable tins, baskets or jars.
Shop locally. Give honey from a local beekeeper, a painting by a local artist, or handcrafted gifts from the great merchants we have here in Robertson
County.
Think durable. Consider how long an item will last before you make a purchase.
Often a cheaper item will wear out long before its more durable equivalent.
Eco-friendly Entertaining
 Host a create-your-own-decorations party. Invite family and friends to create and use holiday decorations such as popcorn and cranberry garlands, ornaments made from old greeting cards
 or cookie dough, wreaths made from artificial greens and flowers, and potpourri made from kitchen spices such as cinnamon and cloves.
Make gift-giving occasions festive by preparing punch and serving it in beautiful bowls and pitchers rather than using beverages in cans or plastic bottles.

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Use your best china, glassware and cloth napkins for entertaining. It requires a little more work but reduces waste from paper plates, napkins and disposable utensils.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Thousands of paper and plastic shopping bags end up in landfills every year. Reduce the number of bags thrown out by bringing reusable cloth bags for holiday gift shopping. Tell store clerks you don't need a bag for small or oversized purchases.
Wrap gifts in recycled holiday paper or funny papers. Use old Christmas cards for tags and hand deliver whenever possible
 to save energy. Remember to save and recycle used wrapping paper and ribbons from gifts received.
Approximately 33 million live Christmas trees are sold in North America every year. After the holidays, look for ways to recycle your tree instead of sending it to a landfill.
 Remember always to look for items made with recycled content. When buying gifts, check product labels to determine an item's recyclability and whether it is made from recycled materials. Buying recycled encourages manufacturers to make more recycled-content products available.
Tobacco Update
Due to the high levels of moisture in this year’s curing process, mold levels are going to be higher. Exposure to the mold could cause
Organic Dust Toxic Syndrome which causes flulike symptoms and will usually leave within 24 hours after not being exposed to the mold or
Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis which has symptoms similar to ODTS but will reoccur with re-exposure to dust. To help ensure you and your help don’t end up with allergies or trigger asthma, have everyone in the stripping house where a dust mask.
Beef Cattle Update
$$$ Money saving tips! When feeding 25% or more distiller’s dried grains or corn gluten, phosphorus requirements in cattle are typically met. Many soils in this area are adequate to high in phosphorus. (Soil and forage tests should be taken to determine this on your farm.) When buying mineral for your herds, you will pay more for bags that are high in phosphorus. But when your livestock are getting adequate phosphorus levels from the soils or feed, then there is no need to spend the extra money for this element in mineral bags. We know that phosphorus is essential for reproductive maintenance of cattle.
However, a negative impact is really only seen when phosphorus is extremely deficient. For comparison, feeding:
(a) 5 lbs of 50% Corn Gluten Feed
/ 50% Soy Hulls provides 10.2 grams per day of P
(b) 5 lbs of Dried Distillers Grains provides 15.9 grams per day of P
(c) 4 ounces of a 6% Phosphorus Mineral provides 6.8 grams per day of P
If you are feeding forages and feeds that contain high levels of phosphorus, you may be able to save a dollar per bag by using a mineral with a lower phosphorus level. However, don’t forget calcium! Cattle require a 1:1 to 2:1, calcium: phosphorus ratio. When feeding large amounts of distiller’s dried grains and corn gluten, calcium should probably be supplemented in the diet.
Therefore, it is very important to monitor the level of calcium in mineral to see that requirements are being met. It is NOT a good recommendation to mix an expensive bag of mineral with a bag of salt. This simply depletes other minerals such as zinc, copper, selenium and magnesium. Rule of thumb is two bags of mineral per cow per year.
4-H Horse Club
If you are enrolled in 4-H and love horses, then you might want to be involved in Robertson
County’s 4-H Horse Club! You do not need to own a horse to join this club. Leaders of the club are Ron and Joann Keck. The first meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, December 2 at the library from 3:20 – 4:00 pm. What we will be offering: education, horse camp, horse showing, field trips, guest speakers, horse

judging, horse bowl, participate on horse council and the list goes on! Parents are welcome to attend.
Bullishness in Tomatoes
Dr. Coolong, UK Vegetable Specialist, identified a new problem for tomatoes in Kentucky this year. It is called “bullishness”. The tips of the branches are twisted and distorted which resembles from 2, 4-D. caused by too
(higher than 120 herbicide drift
Bullishness is much Nitrogen parts per million).
It may be more noticeable in determinate types.
It is worse in cloudy weather, and also may result in flower abortion.
Dead Animal Disposal Management
As stewards of the land it is our responsibility to take care of the land. According to the KRS
257.160, we are mandated to take appropriate action in disposing dead animals. There are several options that you can take in removing your dead animals.
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Burying the animal 4 feet underground
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Utilizing dead animal removal systems (we are in the process of opening a service in the county)
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Animal decomposing
Featured Entrepreneur – Alpaca Breeder
Ingrid Green of Robertson County has well established herself in raising collecting and fiber. There after touring alpacas and spinning their is no question, her farm and viewing her fiber products, that Ingrid does everything needed to insure the highest level of productivity coupled with the best quality. Ingrid is very passionate about alpacas and has graciously decided to share her knowledge about what she does:
ALPACAS in ROBERTSON COUNTY
An informational afternoon at the senior center in Mt. Olivet on December 7 at
1:00 PM, followed by a Farm Visit at the farm on Wolf Run.
Bring all your Questions to both events.
This is a chance for you to become more diverse in your agricultural education, show support and community involvement and see a very exiting way of farming. Please make plans to attend! If you do plan to attend, contact Ingrid at 606-724-
2528 or e-mail her at wolfrunridgealpacas@yahoo.com
4-H Volunteers
4-H is underway! With a new year and new programs being offered, comes the need for volunteers. 4-H offers countless opportunities that range from projects which can be completed for fair time and community service projects to club leaderships and travel opportunities. If you are interested in becoming a project leader, chaperone, program assistant or club leader please contact us at the Robertson County
Extension Office. Whatever your interests are – we can fit it into 4-H. For example there are projects in cooking, clothing, photography, livestock, horse, pets, electricity, woodworking, communication, gardening, field crops, arts and crafts, soil judging, record keeping, shooting sports and the list goes on. Once we discuss what role it is you want to take part in, a mandatory background check will be performed and a job description will be given to you. Then you can become one of Robertson County’s fine 4-H volunteers!
Dairy Programs
Three Dairy Lunch and Learn programs have been scheduled for January. The programs will begin at 11:30 a.m. each day and end around 1:00 p.m. Topics important to dairy producers will be covered. The sessions will be rotated between
Fleming and Mason Counties. Below is the schedule for the Dairy Lunch and Learn:
January 13 Fleming Co
January 20 Fleming Co
January 27 Mason Co

Phase 1 Update
This past year’s CAIP was very successful. At this time all cost share programs are closed and all money has been allocated. New funds will not be released until spring. I will keep updates posted as I’m given new information.
Soil Tests Cost
Starting January 1 st
, soil tests fees will increase to
$6.00 per sample. This is due to increased fees on university laboratory tests.
Greenhouses
Dr. Schelle, UK Floriculture Specialist, recommends that operators be careful when using tobacco greenhouses for other uses.
Make sure the gas furnace is ventilated to prevent buildup of ethylene. Tobacco plants are not as sensitive as floral crops.
Master Cattleman’s Course
The Buffalo Trace Counties are hosting a Master
Cattleman’s Program this winter. The five counties are rotating sessions between the counties and will offer producers a chance to complete the highly popular program. The registration fee will be $80 for the program.
Below is a list of the sessions and the counties hosting:
2010 Master Cattleman’s Program
2/15/10
2/22/10
FOR
MGT
Fleming
Bracken
3/1/10
3/8/10
3/15/10
3/22/10
REP
FAC
GEN
ENV
Lewis
Mason
Fleming
Bracken
3/29/10
4/5/10
NUT
HEA
Robertson
Mason
4/12/10 END Lexington
4/20/10 MKT Lewis
Beef Advocacy
Beef producers work hard every day to be good stewards of the land and animals as we produce safe and nutritious beef for America’s dinner tables. We need to be passionate and vocal in telling our story. That’s what the MBA program is about…equipping beef producers across the country to tell your story in presentations to schools and church/civic groups, through local media and in the “virtual” world of the internet.
If you would be interested in becoming a Masters of Beef Advocate please contact Robertson
County agriculture agent Shannon Farrell for more details.
Dairy Update
High quality hay provides for high quality dairy herds and milk. High producing dairy cows need alfalfa hay. It is important to know the nutrient quality of the hay as determined by a hay test. After harvest, the hay (or silage) needs to have a relative feeding value greater than 150. Other essential components that alfalfa hay provides over other grass hays are excellent sources of energy, protein, fiber and minerals.
Estimating Winter Hay Needs for Beef Cattle
Dr. Burris and Dr. Lehmkuhler, UK Beef
Specialists, have developed an Excel spreadsheet calculator to help you determine how much hay you will need this winter. Please email me if you want me to send you a copy of the calculator (it is free). Below are the results for an example herd:
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Animal Inventory = 100 mature cows
(1300 lbs each), 4 mature bulls (1800 lbs each), 10 replacement heifers (800 lbs each), and 95 calves
(average 600 lbs each backgrounded for 45 days after weaning)
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Forage Quality = 85% Dry Matter and
0.55 NEm (Mcal/lb)
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Feeding Waste = 10% and Storage Loss =
10% (total 20% waste)
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Days Fed Hay = 120
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Hay Needed (1,000 lbs per Bale) o Mature Cows = 504 o Mature Bulls = 26 o Replacement Heifers = 27 o Calves = 78 o Total Hay Needed = 635 Bales

Forage Update
When seeding pastures and hay fields, keep in mind, that similar yields will be observed when mixing at least 25% legumes with different grasses verses seeding pure grass and adding 200 pounds of nitrogen per acre. This could help you reduce fertilizer costs in hay fields and pastures.
Phosphorus recommendations will be given if soil tests indicate levels below 60. Potassium levels need to remain above 220 to be optimal.
Seeding clovers are not recommended in fields testing 200 or lower in potassium. Gold trimmed clover leaves are an indication of a potassium deficiency. Alfalfa cannot survive with little to no potassium in the soils. Hay testing is very important this year. Because a lot of hay in this part of the state was harvested later than optimum nutrient value and due to the excessive wet conditions, much of the forage had already made seed. This is evident with the grass growth on top of bales.
Therefore, nutrient value is quite possibly lower compared with other years and hay tests can help determine what and how much supplemental feed is needed through the winter.
Corn Update
By now, most corn harvest should be complete.
The to – do – list for corn producers this time of year is to take soil samples, do lime applications where needed, conduct any deep ripping if necessary clean harvesters and start repairs. Also check grain storage to ensure that grain is dry and in good condition, begin evaluating what inputs are needed for the next growing season and take advantage of early purchase discounts. Take chemical inventory to determine what products you have on hand verses what you will need for the coming season.
10 Important Facts about the Extended First-
Time Homebuyer Credit
IRS Special Edition Tax Tip 2009-13
If you are in the market for a new home, you may still be able to claim the First-Time Homebuyer
Credit. Congress recently passed The Worker,
Homeownership and Business Assistance Act Of
2009, extending the First-Time Homebuyer
Credit and expanding who qualifies. Here are the top 10 things the IRS wants you to know about the expanded credit and the qualifications you must meet in order to qualify for it.
1.
You must buy – or enter into a binding contract to buy a principal residence – on or before April 30, 2010.
2.
If you enter into a binding contract by
April 30, 2010 you must close on the home on or before June 30, 2010.
3.
For qualifying purchases in 2010, you will have the option of claiming the credit on either your 2009 or 2010 return.
4.
A long-time resident of the same home can now qualify for a reduced credit. You can qualify for the credit if you’ve lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the new home is purchased and the settlement date is after November 6,
2009.
5.
The maximum credit for long-time residents is $6,500. However, married individuals filing separately are limited to
$3,250.
6.
People with higher incomes can now qualify for the credit. The new law raises the income limits for homes purchased after November 6,
2009. The full credit is available to taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes up to
$125,000, or $225,000 for joint filers.
7.
The IRS will issue a December 2009 revision of Form 5405 to claim this credit.
The December 2009 form must be used for homes purchased after November 6,
2009 – whether the credit is claimed for
2008 or for 2009 – and for all home purchases that are claimed on 2009 returns.
8.
No credit is available if the purchase price of the home exceeds $800,000.
9.
The purchaser must be at least 18 years old on the date of purchase. For a married

couple, only one spouse must meet this age requirement.
10.
A dependent is not eligible to claim the credit.
For more information about the expanded First-
Time Home Buyer Credit, visit IRS.gov/recovery
Calendar Updates
12/2 4-H Horse Club Meeting, 3:20-
4:00, Public Library
12/3 Farm School for Women;
6:00pm, Fleming CES
12/7 Alpaca Meeting 1:00pm senior citizen’s building and Ingrid Green’s farm
12/7 Early Childhood Council meeting, noon
12/7 Deadline to register to Cooking Class
12/8 Cooking Class (see page 4 of enclosed
“Healthy Choices”), 2:00pm
12/8 Goodtime Homemakers Christmas
Dinner/Meeting, 6:00pm
12/8 4-H Meetings 7 th
-12 th
grade
12/10 4-H Meetings 4 th
-6 th
grade
12/10 Regional Produce Growers Winter
Meeting, 4pm-9:15pm, Bath County
12/15 Buffalo Trace Diabetes Coalition meeting, 11:00pm
12/17 Kentontown Homemakers meeting,
10:30am
12/18 Robertson County Health Care Facility
Homemakers
12/18 Hay Auction; 2pm, Lewisburg Facility
1/4 – 1/5 Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable
Conference – Embassy Suite Hotel in
Lexington
1/12 4-H Meetings 4 th
-6 th
grade
1/13 Dairy Lunch and Learn Program, 11:30am
–1:00pm, Fleming Co. Extension Office
1/13 Buffalo Trace District Cancer Council, noon
1/18 – 1/21 Tobacco Worker’s Conference
(Early registration deadline December 14)
1/20 Dairy Lunch and Learn Program, 11:30am
– 1:00pm, Fleming Co. Extension Office
1/21 Kentontown Homemakers meeting,
10:30am
1/21 Homemakers Leader Lesson “Diabetes
Update”, 1:30pm
1/21 Goodtime Homemakers meeting, 7:00pm
1/27 Dairy Lunch and Learn Program, 11:30am
– 1:00pm, Mason Co. Extension Office
2/2 4-H Meetings 7 th
-12 th
grade
2/11 Robertson County Homemakers Council meeting, 10:00am
2/11 Homemakers Lesson “Home Cleaning
Products – Safe, Healthy & Green”,
1:30pm
2/15 Master Cattlemen’s
2/18 Kentontown Homemakers meeting,
10:30am
2/18 Goodtime Homemakers meeting, 7:00pm
2/22 Master Cattlemen’s
3/1 Master Cattlemen’s
3/1 Early Childhood Council, noon
3/2 4-H Meetings 7 th
-12 th
grade
3/8 Master Cattlemen’s
3/9 4-H Meetings 4 th -6 th grade
3/15 Master Cattlemen’s
3/18 Kentontown Homemakers meeting,
10:30am
3/18 Homemakers Leader Lesson “Cook from your Cabinet”, 1:30pm
3/18 Goodtime Homemakers meeting, 7:00pm
3/22 Master Cattlemen’s
3/25 Farm Family Night
3/29 Master Cattlemen’s
4/5 Master Cattlemen’s
4/7 – 4/10 4-H Shooting Sports Camp
4/10 Operation Code Blue
4/12 Master Cattlemen’s
4/13 4-H Meetings 4 th -6 th grade
4/15 Kentontown Homemakers Meeting,
10:30am
4/15 Goodtime Homemakers Meeting, 7:00pm
4/20 Master Cattlemen’s
4/20 Homemaker Lesson “Speedy Supper
/Speedy Snacks, 1:30pm
5/10-5/14 KY Extension Homemakers
Association (Lexington)
5/20 Kentontown Homemakers Meeting,
10:30am
5/20 Goodtime Homemakers Meeting, 7:00pm
5/24 4-H Meetings 4 th
-6 th
grade
6/4 - 6/7 4-H Camp
6/7 Early Childhood Council, noon
6/14 – 6/17 4-H Teen Conference
6/17 Kentontown Homemakers Meeting,
10:30am
6/26 County Homemakers Annual Meeting,
11:30am

Cooperative Extension Service
University of Kentucky
Robertson County
PO Box 283
Mt. Olivet, KY 41064
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Hello Robertson County Folks! I am Shannon Farrell, your new
Agriculture and Natural Resources and 4-H agent. I am very excited about getting new programs started to meet the needs of the community. Please don’t hesitate to contact me for any questions you have or just to say hi!
Shannon Farrell
Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural
Resources and 4-H Youth Development
Terry L. Whalen
Extension agent for Family and
Consumer Sciences and 4-H Youth Development

Equipment Rentals
Just a reminder on the equipment we rent from the extension office:
No Till Drill - $50/day
Lime Spreader - $50/day
Corral Panels - $10/day
Cattle Chute - $20/day
Both panels and chute - $25/day
4-H Camp – Christmas gift???
4-H Camp is scheduled for June 4 th
– 7 th
. So mark your calendars and be ready for the information and forms regarding camp. Our county is allotted 25 campers. This will be a first come first serve basis – those campers who complete and return their information packets and pay their fees in full will be given spots first. Camping fees will be approximately $130 per child. This year our office is excited to offer camp gift certificates! If you have a child or young family member (ages 9-14) who will want to attend camp, you could purchase a gift certificate of any amount you would like, that will go towards their camping payments! We have Christmas gift certificates and other occasion gift certificates.